Preliminary studies on alternative substrate for multiplication of African palm weevil under captive management

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 171-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.I. Ebenebe ◽  
V.O. Okpoko

The dearth of animal protein in Nigeria and the need for environmental friendly animal protein productionnecessitates the use of edible insects as an alternative protein source. To ensure the sustainability of edible insects, a cost-effective captive method of rearing needs to be devised. This study was designed to investigate alternative culture media for rearing African palm weevil Rhynchophorus phoenicis under captive management. One hundred and sixty eight palm weevils collected from ‘Mgbo swamp’ in Ebenebe town, Anambra State, were used for the study. The larvae were randomly assigned to eight different culture media (coconut fibre, coconut fibre with palm wine, sawdust of mahogany, sawdust of mahogany with palm wine, palm frond petiole, palm bunch midrib, sugarcanetops (SCT), spoilt watermelon (SWM)). Survivability, growth performance in terms of weight gain and increasein linear body measurements (within 10 weeks) as well as pupation of the larvae (within 35-40 days after the first 10 weeks) were monitored and used as indices of the suitability of each of the culture media. The result showedthat the larva thrived better in SWM and SCT but failed to pupate in SWM. The statistical analysis of the growth performance showed a significant difference (P<0.05) in weight gain in favour of larvae reared in SWM. Numericalvalues for larvae reared in SWM were 8.933±0.1764 and 7.433±0.66 g, respectively. There was no significantdifference (P>0.05) for the linear body measurement: 4.80±0.230 cm body length increases and 1.1±0.058 cm for body width increases for larvae on SWM, while those on SCT recorded 4.183±0.0601 cm body length increasesand 1.033±0.033 cm body width increases. Cocoon formation and pupation was not observed in the larva in the SWM in the 40-day period of observation

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-177
Author(s):  
P. E. Nwaku ◽  
M. O. Otuma

The pre weaning growth performance of piglets from four different cross bred dams mated back to their native parents was studied in the Breeding and Research Farm of Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki. Parameters like body weight, weight gain, feed intake and feed efficiency as well as linear body measurements of body length, heart girth and height  at withers were taken and observed for growth between birth and weaning age of eight weeks. Results Results indicated significant differences (P<0.05) between the main backcross N x (N x LR) and the three other genotypes of N x (N x LW), N x (LR x N) and N x (LW x N) in all parameters. The mean birth weight of the progenies ranged from 1.00±0.60 to 1.60±5kg while the weaning weights were 10.5±0.4 to 16.0±1.0kg respectively. Results further revealed that body weight at weaning correlated responsively with all parameters and these include body length (r=0.858), heart girth (r= 0.446) and height at the withers (r= 0.946). Similarly, body length has a positive correlation with heart girth (r= 0.477) and height at the withers (r= 0.827) whereas hear girth correlated positively with the height at the withers (r= 0.494). Similar trend were obtained in the regression of each of the body measurements on the other in which bodyweight changes depended more on that of body length (0.86) than on heart girth (0.45). Judging from the observed variations existing among the piglets resulting from differnt crossbreed dams in their pre-weaning growth performance, maternal rather than paternal influences appeared to be more important in the traits studied.   


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-43
Author(s):  
M.I. Amobi ◽  
A. Saleh ◽  
V.O. Okpoko ◽  
A.M. Abdullahi

The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential benefits of substituting dietary fish meal with grasshopper meal on the growth performance of broiler chickens. The study was carried out in a mini-animal house of the Department of Biological Science, Federal University of Kashere, Gombe State, Nigeria. Seventy-two, 2-weeks old Arbor acres chicken strain were procured from May Farms, Gombe. The grasshoppers were collected using sweep net trapping method. They were oven dried and milled using local milling machine and incorporated into poultry diets by replacing dietary fishmeal at 0% (Control, A), 50% (B) and 100% (C). Each dietary treatment had 24 birds triplicates of eight birds per replicate in a completely randomized design. The birds were randomly allotted into pens demarcated with plywoods. The birds were fed the experimental diets throughout the six weeks period of the experiment and were subjected to similar managerial and dietary conditions during which time data was collected and used to evaluate weekly weight-gain, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, feed efficiency ratio and linear body measurements monitored. The weight-gain were significantly different (p<0.05) among the treatment groups where birds on Treatment C(1720.11±2.11 g) was highest followed by those on treatment B(1480.00±2.12 g) and the least mean final weekly weight gain of 1,287.98±1.20 g was observed in Treatment A; Also feed intake exhibited the same pattern of weight gain. For linear body measurements, the highest body length increase was recorded in Treatment C (21.39±1.01 cm) while the least was recorded in those on Treatment A, (15.49±1.10 cm). The same trend was observed for body width increase, thigh length increase, shank length increase and wing length increase. This study showed that dietary  grasshopper meal promoted growth of broiler chicken and so would conveniently replace dietary fishmeal. Therefore, establishmentof insect farms are highly recommended to produce enough grasshopper meal to meet the demands of poultry feed industries. Keywords: Arbor acres; growth parameters; dietary grasshopper; chicken body; liner measurement


2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-8
Author(s):  
E. C. Akanno ◽  
S. N. Ibe

Data on body weight and linear body measurements (LBMs) namely ear length (EL), body width (BW), body length (BL), Head to shoulder (HS), Shoulder to tail (ST) and length of leg (LL) of 363 progeny of locally adapted Dutch , New Zealand White and crossbred rabbits at 3,6,9 and 12 weeks of age were analyzed to obtain phenotypic correlations between the various traits and prediction equations for body weight, using different linear body measurements. There were high and positive correlations between each of the linear body measurements and body weight and between the LBM themselves. The values ranged between 0.57 and 0.85, 0.34 and 0.89, 0.27 and 0.83 and 0.41 and 0.75 in weeks 3, 6, 9 and 12, respectively. Hence, it was possible to predict body weight of live rabbits from their linear body measurements, as an aid to farmers in areas where sensitive scales are not available. Except in purebred New Zealand White NZWxNZW, body: length (BL) was a good predictor of 3- week body weight (IBW) in all breed groups. Body width (BW) and BL only were good predictors of 6-week body weight in all breed groups. For predicting 9- week body weight, shoulder to tail drop (ST) was important in all breed groups in addition to either BW, ear length (EL) or body length (BL). ST and BW were important predictors of 12-week body weight generally in all breed groups.


2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
I. O. Dudusola ◽  
E. A. Adeyemi ◽  
O. F. Oyeromi

A total of 168 two-weeks-old Japanese quail chicks of mixed sex were used to study the relationship between Body weight and linear measurements in Japanese quail. Data were collected on body weight, body length, body girth, wing length, shank length and drumstick length fortnightly for eight weeks to predict body weight. Data were subjected to SAS for analysis. The mean body weights were 38.31, 81.12, 121.38 and 132.15g, respectively. Body weight gain increased as the birds advance in age and the highest body weight gain was between week 2 and week 4. Female birds were significantly (P< 0.05) heavier than male. Body weight had a positive correlation with all linear body measurements at week 2 except for drumstick length. The best correlation was obtained between body weight and body girth at the 2nd week of age (0.82) (P< 0.05). The estimates of coefficient of determination which ranged from 0.0043 to 0.68 and predictive equations show that body weight in Japanese quail is linearly related to body measurements especially with body girth and body length. The study showed that Body girth and Body length could be used as criteria for assessment and early selection of Japanese quail for body weight.


2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-197
Author(s):  
S. N. Ibe ◽  
V. N. Obasi ◽  
G. S. Ojewola ◽  
E. N. Nwachukwu

Records of body weight (BW) and linear body measurement (LBMs), namely body length (BL), body width (bwh), heart girth (hg), height-at withers (HW), shoulder-to-tail drops (ST), ear lenght (EL), head-to-shoulder (HS), lenght of fore limb (LFL), lenght of hind limb (LHL) and head circumference (HC) taken on 72 kits produced through complete dialled crosses were used to estimate heterosis and recipocal effects. The crosses involved New Zealand White (NZW), Dutch (DT) and Cchinchilla (CH) breeds of rabbit. Only NZW x DT and CH x DT crosses showed heterosis for BWs, indicating that non-additive sults for all effects of genes could be important for the LBMs were generally similar. Recipocal effect was not significant (p<0.05) for all traits. suggesting that any of the breeds may be used as sire or dam in planned crossesbreeding programmes.


Author(s):  
Vijayalingam Thavasi Alagan ◽  
Rajesh Nakulan Vatsala ◽  
Ilavarasan Sagadevan ◽  
Vairamuthu Subbiah ◽  
Venkataramanan Ragothaman

Abstract Background An effort was made to assess the effectiveness of dietary supplementation of Ulva lactuca (U. lactuca), a seaweed and Azolla individually and in combination on different physiological parameters of Aseel chicken. A total of 40 Aseel chicks of 8 weeks old were allocated into four groups, C1 (control), T1 (Azolla alone), T2 (seaweed alone) and T3 (seaweed plus Azolla). Aseel chicks in C1 were fed with formulated grower feed alone, birds in T1 had control diet with 5% Azolla, birds in T2 had control diet with 3% U. lactuca and birds in T3 had control diet admixtured with 5% of Azolla and 3% of U. lactuca. Parameters were recorded for a continuous period of 2 months in 15 days interval. Results The growth performance was found to be significant (P ≤ 0.05) during 30 days of feed trials and highly significant (P ≤ 0.01) during 45 and 60 days of treatment. Birds in T3 had a higher body weight gain, shank length and feed conversion efficiency followed with T1 and T2 compared to C1. PCV, RBC, WBC and heterophil counts were not influenced (P ≥ 0.05) by dietary treatments. Uric acid, creatinine, AST, glucose, triglycerides and magnesium levels revealed a high significant (P ≤ 0.01) variation, and cholesterol level showed significant (P ≤ 0.05) changes during 30th and 60th day of feed trials between the control and treatment groups. Total protein, globulin, phosphorus and electrolytes like Na, K and Cl levels were not significant (P ≥ 0.05) during 30th day and were highly significant (P ≤ 0.01) during the 60th day of the trial. Conclusions It could be noted that inclusion of U. lactuca and Azolla as feed supplement in grower chicken had a better body weight gain when given in combination (U. lactuca and Azolla) rather than supplemented with the sole entity. Based on the haematological and serum biochemical analysis, the supplementation of U. lactuca and Azolla at the levels included in this trial did not pose any threat to the physiological well-being of Aseel chicken.


Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4647 (1) ◽  
pp. 378-384
Author(s):  
WATARU HAGINO ◽  
SATOSHI SHIMANO

A species of oribatid mites, Pergalumna amamiensis was collected from Amami-Ohshima Island, Ishigaki Island, and Okinawa Island, Southwestern Japan. The specimens were studied in detail, and supplementary descriptions are provided; these include features of the rostrum, the subcapitulum and the surface pattern of pteromorphs. The main morphological traits for this species are summarized as follows; body length 519–570 μm, body width 363–410 μm, rostral tip pointed, sensillus with a long stalk covered by minute barbs, porose areas Aa bulbous, porose areas A1, A2, and A3 circular, surface of pteromorphs ornamented by fine granular structure and dense wrinkles, fine granular structure on prodorsum, subcapitulum, genital plates and anal plates, median pore on the notogaster represented as single pore. 


2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-99
Author(s):  
A. A. Malik ◽  
M. J. Ibrahim ◽  
Y. S. Kudu ◽  
O. P. Jibogun ◽  
Y. J. Adeniyi ◽  
...  

A nine (9) weeks feeding trial was conducted on seventy two (72) day-old Indigenous turkey poults raised on deep litter to determine their growth performance, carcass and economic characteristics when fed three dietary treatments (T1, T2, and T3, containing 0%, 25% and 50% replacement of maize with millet respectively. The birds were divided into three replicates of 8 birds per replicate; making a total of 24 birds per treatment. At the end of the & week, 4 birds per replicate were transferred to specially-designed metabolism cages for a digestibility study involving the collection of faecal droppings; while at the end of the week of the experiments, two birds per replicate were randomly selected and slaughtered to determine their carcass characteristics. Turkey poults fed millet at 25 %replacement showed significantly (p<0.05) higher body weight gain, lower cost of feed per kg live weight gain and higher revenue generated per bird; but there were no significant (p>0.05) differences in the performance of birds on 0% and 50 % replacements for those parameters. Also, there were no significant (p>0.05) differences in feed intake and mortality across the treatments. Similarly, there were no significant (p>0.05) differences in nutrient digestibilities and carcass characteristics of the birds among the various dietary treatments. Therefore, it can be concluded hat millet cam be used to replace maize up to S0 % in the diets of turkey poults at the starter phase with no detrimental effects on their performance


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-34
Author(s):  
A.I. Ukanwoko ◽  
C.T. Alfred

An experiment was carried out to determine the growth performance and haematological indices of Red Sokoto goats placed on oil palm leaf meal (OPLM)-wheat offal based diet. Six goats aged 12-18 months, weighing 15 – 20kg were randomly assigned to three treatments, comprising two animals each in a Completely Randomized Design. Each animal received 1kg of the diet daily for 56 days and weighed weekly. Results showed that final body weight was significant (P<0.05) with goats on T3 having the highest (21.50kg). The feed intake, body weight gain and Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) were significantly different (P<0.05). T3 had the highest feed intake (305.35g/d), highest body weight gain (90.84g/d) and the best FCR (3.36). Significant differences (P <0.05) were observed in the Red Blood Cell (RBC), Packed Cell Volume (PCV) and Haemoglobin (Hb) counts, ranging between 3.12 - 4.20x106ml; 23.00 -30.50% and 7.70 - 10.15g/dl respectively with goats on T3 having the highest.  The inclusion of OPLM enhanced body weight gain, FCR, RBC, PCV, and Hb counts of the goats. Therefore the oil palm leaf meal diets are recommended for better goat production. Key word: Growth performance; Oil Palm Leaf meal., Blood profile., Creatinine., Red Sokoto Goat.


2015 ◽  
Vol 66 (10) ◽  
pp. 857 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Prescott ◽  
Shijie Zhou ◽  
Andhika P. Prasetyo

Tropical sea cucumbers are commonly exploited by small-scale, poorly managed fisheries. A fundamental problem in managing sea cucumber fisheries is the lack of basic knowledge of important life history characteristics for most species. As a result of plastic body dimensions, biological research on this group of animals becomes exceptionally challenging. To improve our understanding of essential biological parameters, we conducted a study to investigate correlations among various body measurements. We analysed a total of 18 sea cucumber species and more than 6600 individuals collected at Scott Reef in the Timor Sea, north-west Australia. We used hierarchical Bayesian errors-in-variables models to specifically take into account measurement errors that are obviously unavoidable. The measures included three types of weights (wet weight, gutted weight and dry weight) and two body dimensions (length and width). The modelling reveals that using both body length and width as independent variables, wet weight increases approximately linearly with body length, but is a power function (~1.6) of body width, although variability exists among species. Dry weight tends to increase more slowly with body length, but has a similar power function of body width. Linear relationships are established between the three types of weights. On average, ~11% of a live specimen and ~16% of a gutted specimen is processed to the commercially traded dry body wall. Our results can be applied to sea cucumbers in other areas and can be useful for data standardisation and size-based fisheries management.


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